Caretaker
by ArtChica
Summary: Clarisse hadn't known they were traitors. That knowledge had come later. All she saw were demigods in need of protection. So she became their guardian, their caretaker. One-shot about all the times Clarisse was feeling protective.


Clarisse hadn't known he was a traitor. That knowledge came later. When Chris Rodrigues came stumbling into view for the first time, all she saw was a demigod whose mind had snapped under the pressure of the labyrinth's horrors.

She should have despised him. He sided with the enemy, attacking her beloved camp and all that it stood for. She should have been disgusted with him. He was weak, as helpless as an infant.

But instead, she saw a boy who had been broken and hurt and abandoned when he no longer served a purpose to the people- the monsters- he had pledged his loyalty to. She felt… something… toward him. She wanted to take his pain so that he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. She could handle it. She was plenty strong enough. But that's not how it works, so instead, she settled for doing what she could to ease his pain and make sure nothing else happened to him.

She became his bodyguard and his caretaker, because ha had no one, and she refused to turn a blind eye to a demigod in need of protection.

"You really care for him, don't you?"

It wasn't until that Aphrodite girl said something that Clarisse realized she had fallen in love with Chris. She immediately tensed, bracing for an attack.

But Selena just smiled gently. "I think that's what he needs most right now."

At first, she'd denied it. Love was the business of the Aphrodite Cabin. It was mushy feelings and goo-goo eyes and sappy poetry. Disgusting. Aries kids would rather die than be caught showing such weakness.

But Selena always replied, "People are strongest when they fight for what they love."

When Chris had his bouts of terror and did not know where he was, and Clarisse 's heart felt like the aftermath of an explosion, she was inclined to disagree. How could love make her strong when it constantly made her feel so helpless?

Selena would wrap an arm around her waist and murmur quiet reassurances as if Clarisse was the one who had been hurt. Maybe she was. Not that she'd ever say so.

When Selena fell for Beckendorf, Clarisse found herself in charge of a second ward.

As soon as their relationship went public, Clarisse marched right up to the Hephaestus leader with fire in her eyes.

"You watch your step, _Charles_. You are _not_ going to hurt her. If you did, I would have to kill you, slowly and painfully, and that would be bad. So you're not going to hurt her." She took a little (ok, maybe a lot of) pleasure from the nervous looks he cast her way for the next week.

Her biggest regret was that she never got to fulfill that threat. Beckendorf was killed long before she could do the honors, and Selena was left broken hearted. So instead of exacting revenge, Clarisse found herself once again comforting a sobbing friend, silently cursing Kronos, the monsters, the gods and everyone who had ever had any part in causing so much pain.

Clarisse hadn't known she was the spy. That knowledge came later. All she saw when she came marching through Manhattan was the pretty demigod whose body had broken from the wounds from the drakon.

She shouldn't have been surprised. It was not the first time she'd made friends with a traitor. Maybe she was drawn to them, or maybe she just attracted trouble, or maybe the Fates were in a particularly foul mood when she was born and they began to weave her future.

At least this time, she had an outlet for her anger and heartbreak. A giant, scaly, monstrous outlet.

The drakon never stood a chance.

For a while, the camp was busy repairing the damages done by the Titan war, both physical and emotional. Clarisse threw her all into rebuilding. It helped that Chris was right there beside her.

With the help of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, Clarisse made sure Selena was remembered as a hero. She had died a hero's death and was surely already in Elysium with Beckindorf. Anyone who suggested otherwise was looking for a smack-down.

Then Jackson went missing. It's not like Clarisse cared what happened to the son of Poseidon, but he had become a sort of leader to the demigods. His loss sent shock waves through the camp, leaving a hole that couldn't be filled. It wasn't like the other times, when he went back to Manhattan to live with his mom and go to school. This time, he was in danger. And no one knew how to help him.

Annabeth was hit the hardest. Her eyes held a deep pain that Clarisse had seen too many times already. The War-daughter mentally prepared herself to take on the role of guardian for a third time.

But Annabeth surprised her. Clarisse watched with grudging admiration as she shoved down her grief with a stubborn determination each and every time the ugly beast threatened to choke her. That girl had backbone.

Which is why Clarisse was not surprised to hear, when the stories finally reached Camp Half-Blood, that Annabeth had greeted her long-lost boyfriend by judo flipping him rather than by running into his arms and crying. Clarisse just smirked triumphantly and marched off to the Aphrodite cabin in search of Drew. She'd just won the bet.

Clarisse hadn't known she was Coach Hedge's wife. That knowledge came a little later.

When the cloud nymph reached Camp Half-Blood, asking for asylum, Clarisse hadn't paid any attention. She had other things to worry about, like the Roman Legion at their borders, and the impending apocalypse. Let some child of Apollo or Demeter take care of the frightened nature spirit. As far as she was concerned, there were already too many of those around Camp, anyway.

But when she later heard that Millie was the wife of Coach Hedge, Clarisse took notice. The aggressive goat-man had been the first to teach her about the responsibility of the strong to protect the weak. Not that she had been weak when he found her, just unprepared to deal with the horde of monsters that suddenly decided she would make a tasty dinner. Either way, Clarisse decided to return the favor by protecting his wife and unborn child while he was on a mission to prevent Gia from waking. She would make sure no harm came to Millie or the kid, no matter what.

By the time the little family was reunited, the war was over, and the Earth Goddess sent back to sleep, Clarisse felt a responsibility for the well-being of the kid. She had promised to keep him safe, and she would continue to do so until he was old enough to be trained to protect himself.

Not because she cared or anything. She definitely was not cooing over how cute the little stayer was. She was just tired of seeing every vulnerable person attacked until they broke. Definitely no caring involved.

Maybe a little.

But only because the kid was so darn adorable.


End file.
